Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 437,128 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 63.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 1.15% of Sonoco Products worth $55,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,645,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,192,000 after purchasing an additional 64,915 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 11.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,465,000 after buying an additional 261,062 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,441,000 after buying an additional 1,965,698 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,842,000 after buying an additional 42,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,490,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,602,000 after acquiring an additional 126,643 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.17.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 723,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,677. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products.